Blogging the NFL Rulebook - Introduction

No major sport has more rules than American football. And no other sport has as many games turn on obscure rules and (mis)interpretations. Yet the NFL, unlike almost all other leagues, doesn't make its full rulebook freely available to the general public. (What's on the NFL.com website under "Rulebook" is merely an unofficial rules digest intended to assist fans/media/etc. in understanding the rulebook.) This combination of complication and unavailability has meant that the vast majority of NFL fans, broadcasters, and players aren't aware of certain rulebook provisions. Future posts in this series will shed some light on some of the more obscure parts of the NFL rulebook.